PATCH
Age : 15 months
Weight:43lbs
State:Maine
Small children under 4: Yes
Children over 4: Yes
Separation anxiety: No
Spayed:no
UTD: yes
Microchipped:No
Other dogs: Yes
Cats:unsure
Crate trained:yes
House trained:yes
Obedience trained:learning
Leashed trained: yes
Adoption donation $250
UPDATED - 4/15/04 - First, let me apologize for being a bad "updater". I have not
"officially" updated Patch's Adoption Update. I had adopted Patch 2 weeks after my
Mother passed away,3 months before my twin daughters were born (on St. Patrick's Day),
and 3.5 months before my brother was diagnosed with advanced cancer. I am 35 (I think
too young for all this to be happening at once).
So, as you can imagine, I have had distractions. However, I have given email updates to
Juls Goodell, Francine Vasta, and Terry Vanderlofske. Thank you very much for all of your
help! For anyone considering rescuing a Boxer (or any dog), please read on....
Just looking at Patch makes me smile during the worst days. To me, she is sooo beautiful.
And, she looks at me with the eyes of a child. But, at the time I adopted Patch, my life was
pretty stressful. So, she quickly became WORK for me.
Rest assured that adopting a young Boxer will NOT be a stress reliever, at the beginning. It
is hard enough to train a dog and understand the breed. But, a rescued dog has likely been
abused, untrained, malnourished, maltreated. They may have been used as a fighting dog,
been chained up and virtually abandoned, had little or no vet care. YOU will have to clean
up this mess.
Patch was less than 43 pounds when I adopted her. You could see almost every bone in
her body. She had VERY recently been bred (God knows where the puppies are), her
teats are fully extended, even now. After breeding she was dumped in a KILL SHELTER in
Newark, NJ. She had roundworm, terrible diarrhea as a result, ear mites, a botched home
ear cropping job, barked constantly, vomited plenty, and wanted the Cat for lunch. Also,
she was/is VERY DOG AGGRESSIVE (except with my Henry - cocker/basset mix, 11
years old). I was angry at her previous owners for her condition. I thought I really "stepped
in it" this time.
Now for the good parts...
Patch is a loyal, sweet companion whose spirit was still somehow pouring out of her, given
her condition. I couldn't look into that face and give up. Although, it would have been easy.
Second Chance Boxer would have taken her back with one phone call. Patch is an
excellent watchdog (so much for White Boxers being deaf!!!!). She learned to be gentle
with the cat (otherwise would face a series of lefts and rights by the lightning fast, de-
clawed, 10 pounds of furry fury). She is good with my 4.5 year old boy and Great with my
newborn twins, she gently nuzzles and sniffs. Currently she is 51 pounds, cured of Round
Worm, strong as an Ox, faster than any dog I have ever seen. And, she does “box�
very well. In fact, she once gave me a “mouse� over my left eye. I have grown to
love her and the breed in general. She is still a work in progress. We are both in
OBEDIENCE TRAINING and she is doing very well. However, her greatest
accomplishment from training will be reducing her dog aggression. She may have been a â
€œfighterâ€� (according to my neighbor). Anything from exercise, potty
outing/housebreaking, feeding, grooming, training, etc. all fell on me, and I was already â
€œspentâ€�. And, of course NOTHING ever happened conveniently on MY
SCHEDULE. But, if nothing else, I was saving a life. Ever effort I made with her was for
her benefit and mine. We love her so. She just wants to be loved. She is a 51 pound â
€œLove Spongeâ€� (say that in a Barry White voice). Housebreaking accidents –
stopped. Chasing the Cat – 99% stopped. Damaging furniture – stopped. Barking –
greatly reduced. Dog Aggression – working on it. Part of the family – 100%. Health â
€“ GREATLY IMPROVED!! Moral of the story…. ADOPT you will be THANKFUL!
It’s work with tremendous rewards. Patch is now part of our family…. 1 toddler, 2
newborns, 2 dogs, one cat, “Big Daddy�, and a “cranky wife� (just kidding).
12/16/03- Patch is GREAT!!!! Other than being slightly needy(after being in a shelter, that
is understandable!) and peeing on the floor a couple of times(not surprising!)...she doesn't
have any faults at all...(okay, so I haven't tried her with the cats yet)...not wanting to
overwhelm her,...however, she is just a gentle little soul. A playful puppy, wanting to
instigate a little mischief once in a while...that's a plus!!!!! Very calm for how young she is!
She has fallen right in love with Brody the big white Boxer boy! They look pretty cute
together,...he is almost exactly twice her size!!!...She will need to pack on a few pounds to
be at a good weight for her body frame.
Patch will be spayed tomorrow morning and I bet she won't be here very long after that,......
What a wonderful little girl she is, she is!!! And beautiful, and
sweet, and playful, and calm , and loving!!!.........and did I mention beautiful?
12/14/03-Patch has arrived safe and sound at her foster home and wants to say a big
thanks to Al who sprung her from the Newark shelter and shipped her on her way north
with a green squeaky frog, food, and lots of love...and also to her limo drivers, she loves to
ride and enjoyed the trip !!! And I think all her transporters fell a little bit in love!
Patch is a sweet little white girl with a big,... brown,.....you guessed it,.....patch over her left
eye!!! She has settled right into The Upperfield with hardly a problem...we will be
introducing her to Rocky, the moody Boxer boy, later today. She and Brody, the mellow
Boxer boy, have been playing up a storm already. She loves the two little girls and really
would like them to play, although they are not taking the bait. She keeps going up to them
with wiggling fanny and play bows and tiny little grunts and growls. She just loves my two
year old son...and is following my husband around like a..........right again! ... a little puppy
dog! We will be taking Patch to be spayed at one of our favorite vets early this week and
then she will be all ready for a forever home....She would look great with a big red
Christmas bow!!!